365 Days of Photos

Day 15

2010-01-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at a candle and I wasn't sure about the best method. This is without flash and I liked it better. I also tried with flash to even out the lighting on the candles but I thought that something was lost in those shots - it didn't seem like candle light.

Day 14

2010-01-16T11:15:00.000-08:00

Day 13

2010-01-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

By the time I get off work it's dark but I wanted to get a shot of a flower so I did this in the morning. This is Tamara my favorite rose and the only bloom currently on that bush. They smell incredible but only last a short time when cut.

Day 12

2010-01-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

This week I have my macro lens attached to the camera with the intention of experimenting. It's the Nikon 105VR and it does a great job with close ups but it's also very sharp for just about any type of shot. This is a necklace I made a few yesrs ago and I was playing with different angles.

Day 11

2010-01-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

This week I pulled out a large purse that can hold my camera and took it everywhere with me. I decided I may not have time to post everyday but I can shoot all week and post on weekends. This is Phil the fish and his job is to watch over my desk at work.

Day 10 of 365

2010-01-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

This is my girl Trouble who lives up to her name in every way. I found her on the side of the road when she was about 6 weeks old and of course she had to come and live with me. I wanted to do a glass piece with flat spaces to carve into with my lathe. This was inspired by Trouble although I've taken a few liberties in my interpertation.

I wanted to spend today working on my piece and in the back of my mind I was thinking about what my photo would be today. I took the easy way out and combined 2 projects.

Day 9 of 365

2010-01-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

Today I caught up on everyday living - housework, shopping and dropping off some drycleaning. I took some shots of kids at a fountain that I had high hopes for but none of them came out well. I really liked how colorful these peppers were so this is the shot of the day.

Day 8 of 365

2010-01-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

This isn't a very good start when I miss 4 days of the 1st 7. I'm having difficulties making the time and yet I know I could just take a picture and upload it in a couple of minutes. So that seems to be a pretty lame excuse. Yesterday at lunch I stopped and took a couple of shots of some decorative grass and here it is. Easy enough so now I need to carry through on that every day.

Day 3 of 365

2010-01-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

Today I have a couple of shots of my dinner in progress.

Day 2 of 365

2010-01-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I knocked a few things off of my to do list but I spent some time making a 2010 list. It seems I am often so consumed with getting through the moment, hour, day that I forget about the bigger picture. My goal is to take some time to put quality thought into a list of the major accomplishments I want to work on in 2010..

I took my camera with me while I was out running around but the only really interesting shot didn't turn out the way I planned. Instead of using that I decided to do something else last night. One of my hobbies is creating kiln formed glass and I've never been able to get a good picture of my creations. I read an article last week about lighting glass objects from below to create an inner glow. The other thing they did was to use a black background. I know that many of the shots I admire have excellent lighting and that's a big failing for me. I have a friend who always talks about using the camera's CLS setting but in my shots it just ends up screaming this is a photo using flash. I've invested in a couple of speed lights and a ringflash system but my skill level hasn't increased with my monetary investment.

I decided to try and capture a casting I made that has different levels of pink, red and white in it. This piece is a perfect example of my procrastinating nature. I've keep it in my living room for almost 2 years trying to decide if I'm done with it. I intentionally let it with a rough texture which I really like. But I keep thinking about taking the front side to an optically clear finish and leaving the rest as is. I think it would make a nice contrast but on the other hand I like it as is. This in the kind of thinking that keeps all my projects in limbo.

I spent a couple hours last night setting this up and playing. The results don't reflect the amount of time invested but I learned a lot. This is the 1st time I've put my flashes on different channels and used the adjustments to control them independently. Shooting in a darkened room and using only my speedlights was another 1st for me. I'm happy with the colors and the amount of detail & texture I was able to capture. I used a piece of heavy black paper that wouldn't bend so I had to cut it for the base and back part. Even though I taped it I was still having some trouble with light coming up through the edges. The under lighting was still a little too much but it's close. Overall I'm happy with the effort and learned quite a bit about my flash system.

Today I'm going to buy a sheet of flexible black paper and try it again. I'm also going to buy some white fabric and try making my own light box based on instructions I found at the same site.

Yesterday after I posted I managed to visit all the 365 blogs mentioned on the Shutter Sisters Flickr site. Boy was I impressed with the level of effort going on. There were just so many great shots I ran out of words to describe them. I probably won't have time to check everyday but I will make it at least a couple time a week. It's exciting to be involved in an effort like this with so many dedicated people.

Now I need to go find the day 3 shot.

Day 1 of 365

2010-01-01T19:26:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I saw a post on Facebook about the 365 project. Last year I followed a couple of 365 blogs and it was interesting to see where it went. I spend way too much time on the PC lately and today was no exception. After an hour of trying to figure out a new blog spot I decided to re-purpose this one. This shot is kind of a cheat since Barney is my favorite subject. We went for a walk in the park and I intended to shoot something new but I manged to get him in a new enviroment.

3 Year Project

2007-08-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

I started this 3 years ago and it sat around on my workbech until last February. I wanted the space for another project and finially finished it. It's about 2' x 2'.

London

2005-11-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

Silly but I had to ride the London Eye. The rumor is it's going to be removed in the near future & I didn't want to risk it not being here for my next visit. I went to the market at Covnent Gardens and was amazed at the number of stalls for glass artists. There wasn't really anything strikingly unique but the prices were slightly higher than I am used to in the US.

Budapest

2005-11-14T02:19:00.000-08:00

My grandparents were from Budapest so this stop was especially interesting to me. I discovered the works of several contemporary Hungarian artist which really touched me. The use of vibrant colors and textures are so much the style I love. I bought several books and keep flipping back & forth between the pictures. This picture is of Statue Park which is located in between the Modern Art Museum and the Natural History Museum. Many of the parades and celebrations where held here during the communist regime. I could feel a certain sadness in the air and I think many lost souls prowl the area.

Stockholm

2005-11-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

Before this trip I tried to find some glass destinations in each city. I'd never been to Stockholm before so I wanted some time just to explore the city but I did manage to tour the Kosta Boda Glassworks. It was facinating but unfortunatly no pictures were allowed. This is a museum I visited that was right across from the Palace.

Winter Venice

2005-11-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

This was my first trip to Venice in the winter & it's a different look. Some of my favorite pictures are rich with vibrant color. A winter perspective is obviously much more subdued. I wasn't going to stop here but at the last minute I decided to visit Murano Island again.